Legacy
by AnotherFacelessAuthor
Summary: A different take on Percy/Annabeth's daughter than I have previously done. Silena Jackson's like has always been abnormal, but until now she never knew how much. When her parents go missing and she's forced to realize who she is, Silena embarks on a quest to save her parents and understand her own capabilities. As it turns out, fate is never kind to Jacksons or Chases.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone. It has been many a moon.**

 **So it turns out I just really like picturing what it would be like to be the daughter of Percy and Annabeth because this is my second iteration of this type of story. If you have previously read Blocking Out Painful Things, then you know that was about a Silena Jackson that watched her parents die when she was young. If you haven't read it, beware, that was many years ago. My writing has vastly improved, or so I would like to think.**

 **Anyways THIS Silena Jackson grew up with her parents, but does not know about the world of demigods. So it's different. Or so I tell myself. But this is fanfiction so I get to do whatever the fuck I want.**

 **At this point I am not committing to a posting schedule. My work schedule is somewhat erratic. But I'm kinda putting this chapter out as a feeler, see how you guys like it. Reviews motivate me like you wouldn't believe. I will say though, I will never update more than once a week.**

 **I should be using this writing time to write my own original shit but ah what can you do.**

 **Also just so yall know I don't do like a TON of editing before I submit cause I'm just kinda cruising and having a good time writing fanfiction so if I mess something up lemme know.**

 **Okay this should hopefully be the longest AN, just figured I had some things to say about this story.**

 **Let me know if you like it and want me to continue. I already have more chapters written so there will likely be more content in the future.**

 **As became my catchphrase, or so I like to think... read on!**

Look, I didn't want to be a legacy. If your here because you think this is another great tale of my parents heroics, get out. Because this isn't about them, this is about me. All of this mess is about me.

It turns out that being a half-blood is dangerous and scary and gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. Or so it has been explained to me. My parents somehow managed to stay alive long enough to have me and it turns out being a powerful legacy is pretty much the same shit as being a demigod to the disappointment of absolutely everyone involved.

So if your parents decide to lie to you, if they're secretive about their history and childhood, don't press for details. You have no idea what they might be hiding and what might come after you should you find out. If I were you, I'd run away from this story. I would've if I could've, but fates aren't kind to Jacksons or Chases and I'm the unlucky combo of both.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

From what I've heard, my dad's story started when he got attacked at a school field trip and then later expelled because he refused to believe people when they said it was all a lie. He became moody and crabby and eventually got kicked out for having a poor attitude.

Shit, I wish my story started that nice. To be fair, it also starts with an expulsion, but we're going to start this mess later that night when I was a complete and utter mess.

"So what is it?" I asked, trying to keep my body from rocking.

"A good time," fuckboy said. I never caught his name but I'm pretty sure he's in my history class. Or was. #expulsion. He squinted at the little pill in his hand. "Or ibuprofen."

I leaned in. "You don't even know what it is?"

He shrugged. "It'll either fuck you up or help with tomorrow's hangover."

"Free of charge?"

"For the bitch who broke Molly Deniles's arm? Fuck yeah."

I took the pill and popped it in my mouth. I was raising my beer cup to my mouth when Mason decided to reemerge, lowering my cup. "Whoah, you have not been keeping an eye on that. You are not drinking it." He finally noticed fuckboy standing off to the side. "Did you give her something?" Mason asked not really looking that tough in his button down shirt and thick black glasses. He didn't really fit with the party scene, and only came when I texted him that I was going.

"Something," he said with a shrug. "One last party for the badass bitch of Reimdall Hall, am I right?" He leaned back and cupped his hands to his face before shouting, "Fuck Reimdall!" Everyone in the room raised their cups and cheered in response.

I lazily followed suit. "Fuck yeah to that, my dude." I went for a swig and this time Mason took the cup completely away from me.

"I leave you to go to the bathroom for two minutes and you take something that _Alan Mikels_ gave you?"

"Is that his name? Would not have pegged him as an Ellen."

"Alan."

"What?" I brought my left hand to my face and then frowned. "Wasn't I holding a joint like two minutes ago?"

"Jesus Christ, Silena, can you slow down? There's no way you're going to be able to hide this hangover tomorrow and then your parents will murder you."

" _Psssshhhhh_ ," I said, spraying spit everywhere. "No. They'll just...look disappointed at me. Tell me about my potential and inher...er...rent greatness or some BS. Fuck I need another shot."

"Silena, you've taken five."

"Six. I did one after you left."

Mason grabbed me by both of my shoulders. "Slow. Down."

I brushed him off. "I'm fine. I have you to look after me. For tonight, at least." And then because I was drunk and deeply repressing any serious emotion I didn't want to think about, I kissed Mason on the cheek and pulled him after me. "C'mon. I need another shot or another hit, whichever we find first and this party is full of rich white people so it's a goddamn toss up. Fuck, this house is huge."

My family moved to a different state pretty much every year, and we always stayed in tiny apartments. New York City was no different, and it took forty minutes of public transport and a fifteen minute walk in a suburban area I felt totally safe in to get to this mini mansion of a suburban home.

What a luxury this kid lived in. Shit, I can't even remember who's throwing this party. I wasn't usually invited to shit like this but I got a twitter DM with an invite after news of my expulsion started circulating. I wasn't planning on coming but I have impulse control issues and home suddenly felt stifling. Thank god for New York fire escapes.

Right when I was asking some stoner looking motherfucker if he was holding, Mason started poking my shoulder. "Fuck off, Mason. I'll be fine."

"No, you won't, but actually not what I was poking you for. Who are they?"

I turned away from the useless pothead who clearly already smoked all his shit to figure out what Mason was pointing at. The kitchen we were standing in was two steps raised above the large living room that was open concept style connected to the kitchen. From our vantage point, we could see a pack of girls our age moving through the gyrating crowd. What made them stand out was their matching silver camo.

"It's fucking April," I muttered, and I don't think Mason heard me over the music and noise of the party, "Not goddamn Halloween."

For a brief second it looked like they were mingling until fuckboy Ellen pointed directly at me and all of them beelined straight for me.

"Are they coming for you?" Mason asked.

"If this is my parents' way of trying to send me to some psycho ass all female military school I'm breaking one of these bitches arms."

"Maybe you've broken enough arms today?"

"It's not midnight yet, so I guess we'll find out."

The camo girls, there were five of them, finally reached me and halted. One girl stepped forward to speak with me while the others kept glancing around. I have wondered if they were on something. Paranoia's a bitch.

"Silena Jackson?" She asked, her voice curt and serious. She was maybe a little younger than me with cropped black hair. Around her head she wore a circlet like she was going for a coachella/military mashup.

"Fuck is asking?" I asked, trying, and failing I suspect, to keep my slur to a minimum.

The girl seemed taken aback and blinked a few times before answering. "You are Silena Jackson, right?" She seemed far more uncertain this time.

"Whether I like it or not. Who're you?"

"My name is Thalia and I'm a friend of your family. You need to come with me right now."

She reached for my wrist but I pulled it away before she could. Unfortunately, I stumbled back and would have fallen if Mason hadn't caught me. "I'm fine," I lied as I shooed him away. "And you," I said, pointing at Thalia, "can go fuck yourself. I don't know you."

Thalia's lips pursed. "Like I said, I'm a friend of your family. Your parents."

"You look like a fucking freshman. You're telling me my parents are buddies with a kid? If they weren't my parents I'd call the fucking cops but they are my parents so I know you're lying." I tried to take a step toward her, down one step of the kitchen, but couldn't manage it gracefully.

Mason still stood beside me, helping me stand. He looked at Thalia hesitantly, but not as willing to call her out on her BS as I was. "You know Mr. and Mrs. Jackson?"

Thalia turned to look at him. "You her boyfriend?"

"Fuck off," I said again.

Mason was more delicate. "No. Just friends. You'll have to forgive Silena, I'm afraid she's had a rough day."

Thalia grimaced. "Well, it's only going to get worse." She turned back to me. "I'm serious, Silena. You're in danger and you _need_ to come with us."

"I'm not going to your fucking military school."

Thalia squinted and shook her head. "What? No, it's nothing like that, just… ugh. Phoebe?" Thalia said to one of her outfit twinsies. "Have we heard from the others?"

The girl, Phoebe, pulled out her phone. It looked like the same off brand smart phone my parents insisted I have. I'd never seen anyone else with one. "Yes. Target is safe."

"Give her a call."

Phoebe nodded, pressed the phone screen a few times, and then handed the cell to Thalia. Thalia held the phone to one ear and plugged the other with a finger to hear better. "Hi, yeah, it's Thalia. You're alright aren't you? ...Good. ...I'm sorry we don't know anything else right now. ...I'm sorry but I'm with Silena and she's being…," a glance at me, "uncooperative. If you could speak to her it might help. ...Thank you." The phone was held out for me.

I took it and managed not to drop it as I raised it to my ear, plugging the other as THalia had done.

"Silena?" I heard over the phone.

I stared at Mason, though I don't know why. It's not like he could hear the voice on the phone. "Grandma?"

"Sweetheart," my dad's mom said over the phone, "you need to listen to Thalia." Her voice sounded shaky but that might have just been in my head or because of all of the noise surrounding me. "Things… Everything is about to change for you, little dolphin, but please know you're parents made every decision they made because they thought it was best for you. They love you. I love you." I was now at least sixty percent certain my grandma was crying.

"I love you too, grandma, but I don't understand—"

Thalia ripped the phone from my hand. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson, but we need to go." Thalia tossed the phone back to Phoebe and pointed at two others. "You two, out front, help the others slow it down or, even better, kill it. You," she said, turning to Mason, "sober boy. Is there a back exit?"

Mason nodded. "The garage is down that hall and then there's a door to out back. The party's out there, too."

Thalia nodded. "Good. Okay, we have to move. Silena—"

And that's when the front of the house exploded.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys. Here's the next chapter. I'll try to keep to a rough once-a-week update schedule but no absolute promises. But CH3 is already written and its longer than either chapter one or two. Also Silena finally gets to sober up a bit lol.**

 **Enjoy and review. They motivate immensely. Read on!**

CHAPTER TWO

After the general screams, the first word I heard was "Horse!" as they all ran away. Me? I stared dumbstruck at the thing wondering if maybe fuckboy Ellen actually did give me something to fuck me up because that _thing_ was not a horse nor was there any chance it was real.

Thalia raised her bow and arrow. Did she have that the whole time? How fucked up am I? "It had to be him again."

The other two raised their bows as well and we five were the only ones left standing still as everyone ran, screaming about a horse loose in the suburbs.

"It's not even part horse!" Phoebe scoffed.

It wasn't, but I could barely tell what it was as it rampaged around the house. It looked like a lion but with a scorpion tale and something in the face almost looked human. Currently, it was bucking erratically as another silver camo girl had her jacket wrapped around the monsters eyes and was trying desperately to stay on it's back.

"Cause that move worked great last time," Thalia muttered. "Hold steady!" Thalia shouted at the other girls. "We don't want to shoot Theresa."

"What the fuck is that?" Mason asked, seeming to come out of his trance.

Alarmed, Thalia turned to look at him. "You can see it?"

"I don't know what it is but it is _not_ a horse."

I looked at Mason, realizing he was seeing the same crazy shit I was. "Oh fuck it's not the drugs."

"You should get out of here, sober boy. You can see the monster, but you're not a half-blood. It won't follow you."

"I'm not leaving Silena."

Thalia turned back to stare at the monster. "That's cute and chivalrous but you are so unbelievably out of your depth."

"Half-blood," I muttered, the fog in my mind not letting me remember where I'd heard that word.

Before my mind could connect any dots, the camo girl on the monster's back finally got thrown off. Almost immediately, his eyes seemed to rest on me. "Little Jackson," it snarled. "Little Chase."

Thalia stepped forward, "And still Thalia Grace. Fire!" With the room cleared, every camo girl began firing bows and arrows. It kept the monster back, but didn't seem to be doing a great job of killing him.

Phoebe called back to Thalia, "Get Jackson to camp. We got this."

Thalia fired off another shot before seeming very reluctant to lower her bow. She grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards the garage. Mason, of course, followed.

I couldn't fight it anymore. I let Thalia tow me along as everything became blurrier and blurrier. I couldn't focus. I had no idea if this was really happening. I was regretting ever having left my bed. I lost track of where we were until I was being shoved into a convertible.

"This yours?" I slurred, my head getting dizzier and my speech worse.

"Gods no," Thalia said before rounding on Mason. "You need to get out of here."

"Where are you taking her?" Mason demanded. "I want to go with her."

"Sorry, but where we're going, your kind isn't welcome."

"My kind?" Mason asked, seeming truly insulted. His mind likely jumped to the fact that his parents were pretty strictly jewish.

Thalia grunted. "Whatever you think I just meant, I didn't. Like I said, this is way out of your wheelhouse, mortal, go home."

"Mortal?" We all turned as we heard a roar from the monster.

"Look, that manticore isn't after you, it's after Silena and more are likely to follow."

 _It's after Silena._ "Holy shit," I muttered, doubling over and putting a hand to either side of my head, "This isn't happening." The world was spinning and I couldn't stop it. It was all I could do to lean to the outside of the car before I threw up.

I heard a car door shut and Thalia was next to me, yanking at the dashboard and fiddling with wires.

"Where's Mason?" I asked, no longer seeing him.

"I told him I'd keep you safe. Dammit, why won't this start?"

"You're hot wiring it?" My speech was now somewhere between a grunt and a slur.

"Well, I don't have keys or a faster way to camp." The engine started and Thalia whooped. "Let's go," she said, right as we heard the monster crash through a different wall of the house and follow us. As we drove, though, the number of camo girls seemed to multiply, like they were leaping out of trees to join the fight. Or maybe that was my double vision.

"What's going on?" I finally found the will to ask. "This...this can't be...oh shit…"

"Look, Silena, I'm sorry, but I can't really explain everything right now. There are other monsters in the area and we need to get to camp safely. And the explanation is too weird and too long for me to multitask." She spared a quick glance at me. "I'm sorry. I know this is crazy."

"Where're my parents?" I asked, suddenly feeling the urge to cry. "You're friends of my parents so where are they? Are we going to them?"

Thalia's lips pursed again and she looked away from me. "I'm taking you to a safe place."

"That didn't answer my question."

"I'm going to be honest, Silena, we're not sure what happened to your parents. They Iri—uh called us while they were being attacked at home but it was cut off short. When we got to your apartment, it was trashed and empty."

I'm pretty sure I threw up all the food in my stomach so I have no idea why it suddenly felt so heavy. Or why it felt so hard to breathe all of a sudden. "They're dead?" I asked, voice cracking.

Thalia shook her head. "We don't think so. We've got a guy who, uh, specializes in death. He hasn't felt or, uh, learned of your parents' deaths yet." Another glance in my direction. "I'm sorry but that's all we know. We have no idea who attacked or why or why now. We just followed the trail of monsters that happened to line right up with our tracking, um, app of you and figured they were coming for you, too."

"But why?"

A pause. "To be honest, Silena, this conversation is probably best had—"

"What? When there's not fucking monsters on our ass?"

Thalia nodded in concession. "That and when you're not super drunk."

"Also like at least a little high."

Thalia turned to me completely. "Zeus above I thought Percy was the rebel of your family."

I snorted. "My dad? A rebel? He got a best buy rewards card the other day because he felt bad about saying he didn't want one."

It was Thalia's turn to snort. "Sounds like him."

Neither of us said anything for a bit and I leaned back and tried really hard not to vomit. Thalia's fast driving and sharp turns weren't helping. All I could think was who in the world would want to attack my parents?

"Oh kid," I thought I heard Thalia murmur. "You have no idea." But maybe that was just a dream.

When I woke up, Thalia was vigorously shaking me. It was hard enough that I immediately doubled over and puked all over the floor of the convertible. Thalia didn't seem that concerned about the welfare of the stolen car.

"C'mon. We're here, but we got monsters on our ass."

"The manty thingy?" I asked as Thalia helped me stand. My head was pounding and the world wouldn't stay still.

"That got taken care of. But of course you had to go and be your father's daughter." I don't think I was meant to hear that last bit.

"Whatdya mean?"

Before Thalia could answer a roar was heard in the not-so-distant distance. "C'mon," she said, hauling me all the way upright and helping me shuffle forward at the fastest pace I could manage. "See that tree up there? We just got to make it to that tree. C'mon Jackson, I've seen your grandmother move faster than this. Let's go! Move it!"

We made it another ten yards before someone shouted Thalia's name. Thalia dropped me, spun, and raised her bow that I swear to God wasn't there a minute ago. My vision was pretty blurry but I'm pretty sure there was a giant man wearing the most realistic bull mask I'd ever seen charging right at us.

Somewhere in the dark, sober recesses of my mind I heard the whisper _Minotaur._

Thalia shot at the minotaur but he simply swatted the arrow away. Other camo girls chasing from behind the monster fired as well. Some stuck, but didn't seem to go very deep. His skin must have been too tough.

Thalia twisted back to look at me. "We've got to go," she said, hauling me up again but my body was liquid lead, heavy but limp. I felt my entire body start to shake. I felt Thalia twist and heard her say something in a language that wasn't english. "Try not to fall," she said to me, being more careful to disentangle herself. I managed to stay upright, and I was fairly certain I could walk, but I also knew a run was out of the question.

This felt like more than coming down off of weed, vodka, beer, and maybe ibuprofen. This felt like my body going into shock while not having its normal resources to cope—likely due to the weed, vodka, beer, and maybe ibuprofen. It felt like something was growing inside of me, pulling at my gut, but I wasn't capable of recognizing it or taming it. I just kept shaking as my gut twisted. I was afraid I'd throw up again.

Meanwhile my eyes were vaguely tracking the battle in front of me. Camo girls kept firing, annoying the beast and sometimes distracting it, deterring the thing from its course. It was clear though, even to me, that I was the one he was gunning for.

I watched as one camo girl went for a more direct approach and was swatted away like a fly. Her body flew through the air and tumbled to the ground. Others called her name but I was just trying to stand still. I couldn't stop the shaking and it was only getting worse and worse. The ground felt uneven at my feet. I stumbled and struggled to stay upright but I couldn't even keep my eyes open. The twist in my gut became so sharp that I cried out as I finally collapsed back down.

With my vision worse than before when I opened them, moments from passing out, I thought I saw sand and dust in the wind and in between sounds like the world coming apart I thought I heard someone call out my name. After that I faded to darkness and silence.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Ain't got much to say. Enjoy and review to motivate me.**

 **Read on!**

CHAPTER THREE

My first thought when I woke up was that I wished I was dead. My mouth was like cotton and my head was still spinning a bit and I still had like a ten percent chance of throwing up.

Then I remembered last night and I sat up faster than I should have. "Whoah," a familiar voice said, steadying my torso as I swayed. "Careful. We couldn't give you that much nectar or ambrosia. We have no idea how much you can take."

 _Nectar and ambrosia_. It sounded familiar but I couldn't exactly place it.

I couldn't place where I was either. It looked like some sort of medical ward—except with more of a cottage vibe rather than a sterile white hospital vibe—with several twin beds placed and medical kits strewn about, but it was empty save for me and the body standing next to me.

I tilted my head up to see Thalia staring back down at me. I groaned and fell backwards. "Fuck, you're real."

"Nice to see you again, too. I see you have your father's way with words." She froze after she finished speaking, as if she just remembered that my father was attacked and now missing. I was right along with her. I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying.

"So," I said, with a little more force than necessary to keep my voice steady, "Where am I? Everything's really fuzzy in my head."

"Yeah I bet. What do you remember?" she asked, sitting down in a chair next to me.

"Monsters. My parents missing. The headlines." I rotated my head to stare at her. "You said you'd explain when I'm safe and sober. Nothing is immediately attacking me and I'm...mostly sober."

Thalia sighed. "I've never really had to do this speech. Never really heard it either." She paused, looking down for a moment before continuing, her voice hesitant. "What do you know about mythology. Let's stick with just Greek mythology right now for simplicity."

My parents put me to bed every night when I was little with different tales of gods and monsters. My mom insisted on museum trips and made sure I knew the importance of every relic and weapon and name. "I know a good amount. My parents were kind of obsessed with it."

Thalia nodded, a repressed smile on her lips. "I bet." A deep breath. "See, the thing is, the term _mythology_ isn't really… correct considering mythology implies...story. Fiction. That it's not real."

I waited her to continue or to start cracking up, telling me that I should see the look on my face, but instead she waited for me to say something. "And are you trying to tell me that it is real? That Apollo brings the sun into the sky and Zeus temper determines the weather."

Thalia cleared her throat. "I'll admit it's a little more complicated than that but basically? Yeah."

"Cool. Awesome." I said shaking my head and convinced of Thalia's insanity. Except… I'm pretty sure I was attacked by the minotaur last night and if my vague recollection of both the first monster and my parent's stories are correct… I think I also saw a manticore. "So what does that have to do with me? Why are these not-mythological myths trying to kill me and take my parents?"

"Well, you see, gods are real," Thalia continued, sounding more and more uncertain as she spoke. "And just like humans sometimes they fall in love or I guess just like… think someone's super hot or something, I don't know, and they have children."

I squinted my eyes. "Kay…"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "These children are called demigods or sometimes half-bloods, but I've got to admit, that's an outdated term. We've run into some issues with it. Basically, these kids are half god, half mortal."

"And what?" I said, an exasperated laugh tainting my voice. "You think I'm one of these demigods? That, what, my parents have been lying for years and one of them is a god or not my actual mom or dad? I look just like them both. Black hair, green eyes from dear old dad, and crazy hair and small nose and thin lips all courtesy of mom." I leaned forward slightly for emphasis. "I'm not a demigod."

Thalia nodded slowly. "No. But your parents are. Both of them."

"My parents? Children of gods? Bullshit."

"It's true. They both came to camp for the first time when they were much younger than you. That's where you are now, camp. Camp Half-Blood, specifically. It's a safe haven for demigods."

With all of that all I could manage to say is, "but I'm not a demigod."

Thalia shrugged. "Legacies are admittedly rather new to Greek culture here, but technically you are half god, just two different gods make up that half. We'll have to find out exactly where we want to—" Thalia stopped as someone knocked on the door.

Some scrawny kid about my age poked his head in. "Thalia Grace? Um, Chiron would like to speak with you."

Thalia stood. "I'm sure he would." Thalia glanced down at me. "This is a lot to take in and you have a lot more to digest than most. Take your time. I'll tell you the rest of the story when I get back."

I don't think I even moved as Thalia walked away from me. I stayed stone still staring at the ceiling until the exact moment the door clicked shut. As soon as it did I nearly threw myself out of bed.

In moments of crisis, I didn't sit still very well. I lashed out or broke arms or, worst came to worst, snuck out of windows. The window in the makeshift infirmary didn't even have a screen or any sort of lock and the room was located on the first floor. I had a harder time sneaking out of my bedroom last night to go to the party.

If I had been home would I have been taken, too? Would I have been able to help my parents?

Doesn't matter. Can't change the past. I just needed some air and to walk.

I landed on the ground more solidly than I could have hoped considering I was still like ten percent hungover. After that I just started walking and let me tell you, this 'camp' was _insane_. Sure they had volleyball courts and rock walls and cabins, but those volleyball players were way too intense and the rock wall had lava and each cabin seemed erratically themed. I saw teens swinging swords at each other, firing arrows, screaming in a language that wasn't english but also didn't feel foreign. It was chaotic.

I didn't stop walking until I reached the far edge of the camp, staring into Long Island Sound. For the first time that morning, I felt like I could breathe.

I nearly jumped when someone spoke. "You must be the new camper everyone's making a fuss about."

I turned and saw a guy about my age with dark skin and closely shaved hair. He looked casual in an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt but this image was slightly ruined by the odd blade hanging by his side, a sword with huge serrations cut in, not to mention his rigid posture and almost military cut hairstyle.

I was suddenly aware I certainly had party hair and smeared make up and was wearing heavily torn skinny jeans and a vintage Green Day plunging neckline choker tank top. "Must be," I said, trying to act like this was a totally normal conversation and I wasn't two inches from a breakdown. "Name's Silena."

"Simon," he said by way of greeting. "You been shown the orientation video?"

"They have an orientation video for this shitshow?" I asked.

He shrugged, neither fazed nor amused by my language. "Supposedly, though I've heard it's outdated. But you've been given the speech, then?"

A highly abbreviated version, I suspected, but still I nodded. "Duh," I said, vaguely gesturing around me, but for what purpose, I didn't know.

Simon nodded. "Good. Claimed?"

"Claimed?"

"Do you know who your godly parent is?"

"Oh," I said, waving him off. "My parents aren't gods. They're demigods."

His eyebrows raised slightly. "I understand those are rare among the Greeks. Good to see that's changing. Who are you descended from, then?"

I let out a breathy chuckle and tried to run a hand through my tangled hair. "I kind of jumped out the window before they got that far into the explanation. 'Gods are real' kinda bugged me out and sitting still isn't really my forte."

"ADHD, I suppose?"

I frowned. "How'd you know?"

"Common demigod symptom. It's our built in battle reflexes. You probably got it from your parents. Dyslexia is also common since our minds are wired for ancient languages."

Both of my parents were ADHD with dyslexia. Luckily I had dodged the second one. "Makes sense." A moment of silence settled over us and I nervously tried to run my hands through my hair again and got my fingers caught in tangles. "Forgive the appearance. I don't usually look like party trash."

His eyes casted down and his lips pursed in a way that was meant to be a smile but dripped patronization. "Looks like you had a fun night. And on a thursday, too."

"Dude's parents were out of town. Kids take advantage of that when they can. Besides, half of my crawled-out-of-a-ditch look is because of the monsters that attacked me also, by the way. Two different ones."

He wasn't as impressed or concerned as I hoped. "Heard the minotaur made quite a mess of Half Blood Hill. It's a good thing the Hunters found you."

He didn't know what he was saying, couldn't know what I heard. _It's a good thing the Hunters found you_. _Otherwise you'd have been taken with your parents. Or maybe you could have helped them. Maybe they would have been fine. Maybe if you were with them you all would have lasted until the Hunters found you all. Maybe if you weren't such a screw up..._

My throat suddenly got tight as I remembered the last conversation with my parents. The last things I said. _If I'm such a disappointment then just leave me behind when you disappear to another state. That's what you do with everything else in your life you have no need for._

"You have no idea." My throat burned but my voice was steady and my eyes were dry. Simon, however, seemed to study me further. I looked away and changed the subject. "What about you?" I asked.

"What?"

"Who's your godly… whatever."

"Oh." He stood up a little straighter, if that was possible. I have expected to hear his spine snap like a twig. "Mars. Roman god of war."

"Roman," I repeated. "Cause those are real too. Of course."

"Ran out before that part of the explanation too, I suppose?"

I glared, wanting to argue, but unable. "Technically, yeah," I conceded. "But I'm not exactly surprised."

He cracked, a bit of a breathy chuckle, even out of disbelief. But even in that half second he seemed more human. "Really?"

I held my arms outward for a moment before letting them fall back to my side. "It's kind of crazy to be here. I mean, not just the standard brand of gods-are-real craziness but… My parents always told me about camp. I mean, I didn't know it was real, I didn't know _any_ of this was real, but they'd tell me Greek myths as bedtime stories." I looked back at Simon and I had his complete attention. It was almost unnerving. "Sometimes they'd tell me these stories of modern day heroes. They told me about Camp halfblood and Camp Jupiter, that is the name of the Roman camp, right?"

"Yeah. It is. What sort of stories would they tell you?"

I rolled my eyes. "The most ridiculous, outlandish tales. I mean, a war in Manhattan? That no one noticed?"

Simon frowned. "The battle of Manhattan? The war against Kronos? That war?"

I straightened up in surprise. "Where everyone fell asleep?"

"To quote the First Great Prophecy, _And see the world in endless sleep_. Obviously that was before my time and before even the two camps knew about each other but…" Simon shrugged, "Everything Percy Jackson did is legend now. Even to Romans."

All the air left my lungs while my brain did a record scratch. _Everything Percy Jackson did is legend now._ That sentence didn't compute. "I'm sorry," I said, my eyes briefly closed as my mind reset. "What did you say?"

"The battle of Manhattan was this whole thing," he began explaining. "A prophecy about—"

"A son of Poseidon, yeah," I shook my head, "I was told that but—"

"Of course they didn't always know it'd be the son of Poseidon, there were a couple other Big Three children in the mix for awhile. And even Percy Jackson wouldn't have survived everything he did without Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena."

"Stop." I said with my eyes closed. "Just. No. You're wrong."

When I opened my eyes, Simon had taken another step towards me and was scanning me, as if looking for an injury. "Are you okay?"

"The son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena. That's who my parents told me about."

Simon nodded, but his concern didn't recede. "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

I was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Stop saying their names like that."

He approached me like one would a wounded animal. "What do you mean? Silena what's wrong?"

My dad always called me his little dolphin. _It's the smartest sea creature out there_ , he'd explain, as if that made total sense. As a marine biologist, I just figured he was obsessed with the ocean.

 _The son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena._

 _Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase._

"You never got my last name," I whispered.

"What?"

"My last name," I said louder, turning to face Simon, "is Jackson. My parents' names are Annabeth and Percy Jackson."


End file.
